Italian … makes Italians

“Fatta l’Italia, bisogna fare gli Italiani,” famously said Massimo D’Azeglio shortly after the unification of Italy. And he was right: in those faithful last decades of the 19th century, when Risorgimento reached its apogee and political ideas of unity and romanticized nationalism were all the rage in the peninsula, not many considered how culturally and linguistically varied the people of Italy were.

The country was one, but what about its customs and, more than anything else, what about its language? Yes, Italian is ancient and beautiful, but it was then far from being the only language spoken: the north-west had French and its dialects, mostly Piedmontese and Ligurian (both possibly closer to French than Italian), the South had its many idioms, Sardinia had a language of its own. Of course, all Italians learnt Italian in school, but how many did actually spoke it then?

You would be surprised to know that only a little percentage of “Italians” actually favored Italian on an everyday basis, a bit as you may see today in rural communities, where many prefer the dialect and only switch to Italian when writing or speaking to people they do not know. Believe me, it does still hold true: my very own father prefers speaking in Piedmontese when in company of his friends, and only switches to Italian when necessary. I also have Sicilian friends of my own generation who commonly speak among themselves in dialect, something we 30-something northerners, however, no longer do.

The majority of Italians (59%) said language is the true identity definer, more than being born on Italian soil. Photo by gandolfos

Beware, though, this does not mean Italians are not proud of their own language, and now there is even a study saying it.

Let me start from the beginning. Have you ever wondered what makes you American? Or Italian-American? Or Italian? The question was at the root of a project carried out by the Pew Research Centre, a non-partisan institution based in Washington D.C., focused on social matters, public opinion and demographic trends.

Researchers were interested, in particular, on the factors people believe to be more defining that others in creating national identity. Curiously enough, the majority of Italians (59%) said language is the true identity definer. More than being born on Italian soil, even though a still high slice of Italians (42%) associated birth to the idea of nation, more than in other places like Germany or Australia, where it reached less than 20%.

Commentators at the Pew Research Centre have pointed out how, when it comes to birthright, the highest European percentages come from countries - Hungary, Greece and Italy - which have been facing enormous issues related to uncontrolled migration. To contextualize the data better, think that in the US, 32% of citizens see birthright as relevant to truly being American, 70%, on the other hand, consider knowing the national language as fundamental.

If it is true that language is seen as a main identity-yelding factor in Italy, the percentage is rather low when compared to that of the US or, in Europe, of places like the Netherlands or the UK, where it rises over the 80% mark.

Why then, language is considered important to create and maintain national identity, but not as much as in other countries in the world? I believe the answer should be sought in the very presence and high popularity, at least in certain parts of the country and among specific demographics, of regional dialects. Dialects are as much as a cultural signifier in many areas of the country as Italian itself is: literature, music and even movies are produced in dialect. Think of Neapolitan melodic songs, for instance, which are popular everywhere in the country still today, or of the immense success of novelists such as Camilleri, father of our beloved Commissario Montalbano, who make large use of dialectal and colloquial expressions in their works. I wonder if even more Italians would have chosen “language” as a determining factor, if dialects were considered in the question.

Whichever way we look at it, the fact is linguistic expression remains crucial in Italy to define identity, even if percentages may be lower than in other countries. There is a profound tie between Italy and its language, because Italians are born communicators: writers, poets, orators, they have always been known for excelling at creating with words and this is where, it seems, Italy’s national love for language may be rooted into.

It is not simply knowing Italian that makes you Italian, it is the act itself of creating with words, of moulding reality with speech as much as a sculptor does with stone. Language in Italy is a “matter” to make art with and much more than a simple way to communicate, it is a manner to express culture, tradition and yes, also national pride. “This happens in all countries” you may say, and you would be right. But, believe it or not, it does not stand true anywhere as much as it does in Italy.